Posted by Editormum on 19 June 2008 in
News Commentary |
∞
It’s got to be tough to be a corporate executive nowadays. Costs are skyrocketing; consumers rebel against price increases because their paychecks and budgets are not skyrocketing, and the corporate exec is caught in the middle.
I follow a website called Mouse Print, which reveals the sneaky ways that comapnies cheat consumers.I’ve stopped using a lot of products because of reports I’ve read here. And it looks like there is no end in sight.
I stopped buying Breyer’s ice cream when they downsized their half-gallon container to hold 1.75 quarts, and I avoid them totally now that their container holds only 1.5 quarts —why? Because the container still looks like a half-gallon. Yeah, they changed the net weight printed on the container, but who looks at that every week to make sure it’s still the same? And when you are buying to make, say, punch for a party, and the recipe calls for a half-gallon container of ice-cream, now you have to buy two containers and try to figure out what part of the second one will make the two quarts that you need. That’s totally unkind to the cooks and the budget-crunchers.
I stopped buying orange juice ages ago for health reasons, but Tropicana’s recent change from a 96 ounce jug to an 89 ounce jug would certainly lose my loyalty as a customer. Some paper towel manufacturers have reduced the number of sheets in the package — while leaving the price the same. And some mayonnaise jars are no longer a quart (32 ounces), but only 30. Same thing with some butter and margarine tubs, which have shaved two or three ounces from the expected 3 pounds.
I understand the economics of these decisions. Really. I do. Oil is expensive, and you need it to make plastic. And you need it to transport both the empty bottles and the full ones. Not to mention that nearly everything else that goes into product manufacture is more expensive these days. Of course the manufacturers are going to pass those cost-increases along to the consumers. That’s just basic economic sense.
It’s not the changes or the price increases that bother me. If the manufacturers would just tell me the changes they are making and why, I’d still buy their stuff. What I don’t like, what causes me to dump them as “vendors” for my life needs, is the sneaky, underhanded approach they use. If you need to increase the price of your item, DO IT OPENLY. If you are going to change the container and it’s going to hold less, TELL ME. I don’t stop doing business with companies that raise their prices. But I do stop doing business with companies when I feel that they are trying to cheat or trick me.
Be honest, be open, be transparent with me, and I will respect you for it. Lie to me, trick me, cheat me, play games with me, and I will drop you like a hot rock. I don’t have time for dishonesty in any area of my life.
Tags: customer service
Screwing the Consumer
It’s got to be tough to be a corporate executive nowadays. Costs are skyrocketing; consumers rebel against price increases because their paychecks and budgets are not skyrocketing, and the corporate exec is caught in the middle.
I follow a website called Mouse Print, which reveals the sneaky ways that comapnies cheat consumers.I’ve stopped using a lot of products because of reports I’ve read here. And it looks like there is no end in sight.
I stopped buying Breyer’s ice cream when they downsized their half-gallon container to hold 1.75 quarts, and I avoid them totally now that their container holds only 1.5 quarts —why? Because the container still looks like a half-gallon. Yeah, they changed the net weight printed on the container, but who looks at that every week to make sure it’s still the same? And when you are buying to make, say, punch for a party, and the recipe calls for a half-gallon container of ice-cream, now you have to buy two containers and try to figure out what part of the second one will make the two quarts that you need. That’s totally unkind to the cooks and the budget-crunchers.
I stopped buying orange juice ages ago for health reasons, but Tropicana’s recent change from a 96 ounce jug to an 89 ounce jug would certainly lose my loyalty as a customer. Some paper towel manufacturers have reduced the number of sheets in the package — while leaving the price the same. And some mayonnaise jars are no longer a quart (32 ounces), but only 30. Same thing with some butter and margarine tubs, which have shaved two or three ounces from the expected 3 pounds.
I understand the economics of these decisions. Really. I do. Oil is expensive, and you need it to make plastic. And you need it to transport both the empty bottles and the full ones. Not to mention that nearly everything else that goes into product manufacture is more expensive these days. Of course the manufacturers are going to pass those cost-increases along to the consumers. That’s just basic economic sense.
It’s not the changes or the price increases that bother me. If the manufacturers would just tell me the changes they are making and why, I’d still buy their stuff. What I don’t like, what causes me to dump them as “vendors” for my life needs, is the sneaky, underhanded approach they use. If you need to increase the price of your item, DO IT OPENLY. If you are going to change the container and it’s going to hold less, TELL ME. I don’t stop doing business with companies that raise their prices. But I do stop doing business with companies when I feel that they are trying to cheat or trick me.
Be honest, be open, be transparent with me, and I will respect you for it. Lie to me, trick me, cheat me, play games with me, and I will drop you like a hot rock. I don’t have time for dishonesty in any area of my life.
Tags: customer service